A Deputy General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Haruna Mohammed, has stated that the flagbearer of the opposition party, John Mahama, did not present any new idea in his media engagement.

On July 7, the National Democratic Congress(NDC) flagbearer held the maiden edition of Mahama Conversations.

The event brought together media practitioners from various media houses to listen and interact with him.

Mr Mahama, among other things, pledged to ban mining in forest reserves, ensure fiscal discipline to address exchange rate issues, and support any bill that improves Free SHS.

The four-hour engagement saw the former President answer key questions from all sectors.

However, commenting on the engagement on Joy News’ Election Brief, Mr Mohammed said these points are not new and merely a repetition of things Mahama has already said.

“I did not even know that Mr Mahama would be speaking until I was called and informed about this particular discussion.

"Lo and behold I went unto the media to search and see whether there is something new that was presented by former president Mahama, and I haven’t seen any new thing that was said by him,” he said.

He argued that Mr Mahama's speech cannot be compared to that of the NPP flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

• Read also: Dr Asah-Asante urges others to emulate Mahama’s ‘innovative’ media engagement

He stressed that Dr Bawumia has all the solutions to the country's woes.

Meanwhile, a political scientist has lauded John Mahama for the initiative.

Dr Kwame Asah-Asante has described the initiative as innovative, adding that innovation is essential in the political competition arena, and has the potential to determine who captures political power.